pitbulls love em or hate em.?

Question

my hubby and i have been raising pits for 10 yrs now.we have 4 kids ages 3-9.our dogs have always been well behaved respectable pets, that listen, obey, play, and love. i think it is so sad that people buy these dogs for whatever reasons, and mistreat them, train them to be fighters, and so on. a pit wants to make it owner happy, regardless of the consequence. or if its mistreated, they will act upon that, as ANY dog would. and with thepit being a very powerful dog they do more damage, which in the end, gives them bad attention. i would just like people to know that they are great family dogs, so many people are too scared of that idea. they really are a great breed. i just wish everyone could treat them correctly(owners and outsiders) tell your views

Answer 1

Pitbull people say that if they are raised properly they are great pets and I am sure this is true. But every breed has an inherent and instinctual quality. It is osmething that comes out no matter what. I have foxhounds. Though they look like hunting dogs I have never trained them as such. But I am continually amazed when they take off into a field and show hunting behavior.

Problem with pitbulls is that so many people who are not educated about dogs, much less pitbulls go out and get one. They think it would be "cool" to have such a potentially powerful animal. But these are akin to the people who have a terrier and can't figure out why their dog is acting up. But if a terrier acts up the results are minimal....... a pit bull? Well you know better than I. German shephards can cause damage and there is a reason that the police and military use them. They are less apt to suddenly forget their training, lash out and are more people friendly.

So in general there is a reason why they are banned in a lot of places. Someone such as yourself? All for it. But I do believe in general that most people do not make this decision as far as breed, children, family and neighbors. Though any breed can lash out, more often than not when a pitbull turns it always seems to big a "big surprise" to the owners.

They are bred to do a certain job and I actually have no sympathy to those who are surprised when things go wrong. The rational is how they are treated by all Pit owners. It's a certain breed and why would one even lay open the possibility of a child getting hurt no matter how remote? You know how kids are. You have a three year old? Its hard enough with any dog. You are raising them implies it is not a family dog..... but a money thing.

It's not scared, it's common sense. When your dog locks on to one of your kids because he/she spooked it and needs reconstructive surgery you can blame only yourself and your husband.

Answer 2

I'm sorry to say I've seen sooooo many irresponsible dog owners, I don't like pits or any breed big enough to do such serious damage when not trained well. Here in the neighborhood it's not that bad but near where I work, about half the dog owners are careless, it's really that bad... there's a leash law in effect but when I walk or bicycle from the train station to work & back, far most people let their dogs run around loose, and while *some* of those dogs will come when called, loads of them don't. Some have even chased me or snapped at me without any provocation (not even the scent of fear -several I hadn't seen until they were coming at me growling & barking). I know it's the owners' fault and not the dogs', however with those numbers of irresponsible owners, I dislike anything big & strong, the risk of them ending up w/the wrong owners is just too great!

Answer 3

Absolutely love them! I volunteer at a local humane society and come across numerous different breeds. By far, the pits are always some of the most loving. I have 2 pit mixes myself and they are extremely gentle with my small child. It is actually a severe flaw in the breed if you find a person aggressive pit. When they were bred to fight, the people had to be able to approach the dog. Therefore, the dog could not be person aggressive. They are loyal and gentle dogs that get a bad rep because of bad owners and bad press. We had a huge dog mauling in our area involving a beagle, left a little girl in critical condition, and guess how many stories ran in the news about that..... NONE!!!! Punish the deed, not the breed.

Answer 4

LOVE EM, LOVE EM, LOVE EM,
They are the BEST.... especially around children.
The problem with pit Bulls comes from 2 things.
1. the OWNERS
2. BAD BREEDING as in breeding pits with bad dogs like Rottweilers, Chows or other junk dogs. OR breeding siblings or Dads & Daughters can make them kinda Hyperactive.
I have a RED RED NOSE female that LOVES everyone espesially CHILDREN. She is NOT a Good WATCHDOG though, unless someone hates being licked all over!!!HaHa
Any dog that is treated badly can become a TIMEBOMB, but like you say "Pits are so strong, they can cause more damage"
+ they make better news stories and 95% of the time they are not Pit Bulls at all,
CHECK OUT the Pit Bull website, and play the "Pick out the Pit Bull Game". It's very enlightening!

Answer 5

Love them. I have one a 80lb big guy and a 19 month old little girl. He is wonderful with her and is always calm, and gentle. I of course never leave her alone with him,nor do I leave her alone with the chihuahua you NEVER leave a dog with a child unattended. I agree that with most dogs they do whatever they can to make their owners happy even it it is bad. People have to understand that a dog will do do anything that it is trained to do: sit, down, roll over, attack. It is the owners we should be hating not the dogs who know no better. Any dog can be dangerous from the smallest to the largest it is just that the larger the dog the more damage it can do. I just recently heard about a toy breed tearing up an infants face it did a lot of harm because of the size of the dog compared to the size of the dog. Sorry didnt mean to go on and on. Pitbulls LOVE EM!

Answer 6

I think pits can be great dogs. The problems that come into play with pits are bad owners, and bad breeding. It seems that pits have also been taken up by "thug" types. They are bred for aggression, and then tormented by their owners to make this trait come out on an amplified level. If you can find a serious breeder that loves the breed, then most likely you will get a great pet. You have to watch out for all the backyard breeders though, who are just out for money. Any dog can be mean. Some are just more cut out for it than others. Its just like in humans. Some humans are born with bad tempers, and most times it is genetic. The same is true for dogs.

Answer 7

I think it’s interesting to hear the differences in opinions here. People that have had them, raised them, and trained them are the ones that say how great they are and how gentle and loving, especially with children. It’s the people who have only read about them, seen stories on tv, or had one bad experience with them to label them all as killer dogs, who are useless and should die out or be banned. Pit bulls, if well bred and trained, will NEVER be aggressive to people, though they aren’t always great with other dogs. This comes from their background as bull baiters. Contrary to public opinion, pits were not bred to be fighters and killers, they were bred for bull baiting, to tenderize the meat before it went to market. It was only when bull baiting was outlawed that they were pitted against each other.

I work for an animal shelter and have dealt with endless dozens of pits. Most end up as wonderful loving pets. I’ve actually been bitten more by the little yipper terrier type dogs than a Pit Bull. I’ve not ONCE been bit by a pit at work.

I also have a Staffie at home and he’s fantastic with my other two dogs. It all comes down to proper breeding and training.

**Pluto, you have a great knowledge of pits! Glad you're trying to educate people :)

Answer 8

I don't know if I would ever have one but I do love them. They are so fascinating to me. I work at a vets office and we also do boarding and we get alot of pitt bulls. They are very beautiful and fun dogs. They have so much energy and they just want to play all the time. I have never seen a mean one yet, they are all wonderful and just want to lick everyone to death. It makes me so sad that people don't realize how wonderful these dogs are with the right owners. I have actually seen more mean labs and golden retrievers than pitt bulls. And those are supposably the number one family dogs. It just goes to show people that any dog breed and be mean without training. People are just so ignorant.

Answer 9

I could never hate any dog - but Dogs are clearly bred for different reasons, including their personality traits. Some breeds are better with children, some breeds are better for helping blind folks, some dogs are better hunters, better racers, and some dogs are better guard dogs.

Any dog raised with love will be a loving dog, but they are still animals and still a slave to their instincts - so I do think there is a higher risk of incident with Pit Bulls than, say, a Pug - and you're right, their size is a part of that.

I think in many cases, Pit Bulls have been bred for their aggressive traits.

Answer 10

Pitbulls are not necessarily bad dogs. I agree that ownwers make the dog, but they have a different genetic makeup that other dogs from what I understand, which causes them to "turn".


I think alot of it has to do with proper breeding as well, just like any other breed.

I have a beast of a rottweiler (muscular 125lbs) that everyone's scared of, though he's a big happy baby. So, I understand people's ignorance can be very frustrating.